I need some help. My AV trial on this machine is running out, and CA is hassling me to sign up and pay.
What I really dislike about AV software is
1. clashes between Windows and AV
2. the way AV software vendors try and pork you by forcing you to buy a CD-ROM, to go alongside your software subscription. Look folks it is a service, or a packaged app. I am not paying for both.
So does anyone know of solid anti-virus software that just does what it says on the tin, doesn’t try and make me install a bunch of software I don’t want, and doesn’t force me to buy a CD copy.
I don’t mind paying for value at all. I just don’t want to pay for a bunch of stuff I don’t want. So can anyone save me from antivirus integrated aggravation?
/pd says:
March 8, 2006 at 6:28 pm
as silly as it sounds, Google pack seems to be working for me so far. its an AV module which gets synced in with the updates.
Neil Macehiter says:
March 8, 2006 at 6:47 pm
I have been running TrendMicro PC-cillin Internet Security for over a year. It’s an annual subscription (roughly £20) with anti-virus, firewall, anti-malware, real-time scanning: no CD just a download. Integrates well with the Windows XP SP2 Security Center
Disclosure: Trend is not a customer 😉
Tim Howland says:
March 8, 2006 at 7:06 pm
ClamWin is free (opensource), and based off of clamAV’s virus definitions (commonly used by linux mail servers to clean up inbound mail on behalf of windows machines).
I like it because it’s scheduled scans only- I can put it on a web server and not worry about losing cycles to a mostly quiescent app. However, this makes it less appealing for desktops.
http://www.clamwin.com/
Jaime Cardoso says:
March 8, 2006 at 7:31 pm
I really don’t get that AV thing, …
If I don’t want an Application Installed, I simply won’t install it, I don’t need an app to prevent other apps from installing.
But, then again, I know what happens in my boxes 🙂
C’mon in, the water is fine
Jaime Cardoso says:
March 8, 2006 at 7:35 pm
humm, “questionable content” just by putting a link to Opensolaris and Suse, man, you’re in a worst situation than I thought, you need some detox fast, 2 weeks of Playstation Quality time for you 🙂
catherine helzerman says:
March 8, 2006 at 7:41 pm
Symantic seems to be the least evil of the bunch. McAvee (spelling?) is horrible.
Dennis Howlett says:
March 8, 2006 at 11:41 pm
Going back some years – maybe before your time on IWeek, I did labs on AV and basically it FU’d stuff unless you’re really, really careful and only have one at a time AND do a thorough clean up afterwards.
There is a freebie out there (1 year – CA, I think) – is that the one you’re on about?
If you are going to pay, Sophos was always the one I preferred. Clean, reliable, enterprise class. To be honest, I think it’s something that’s well worth paying good money for and not going for a cheapo on PC.
Don’t agree about Nortons – highly invasive and intrusive and unreliable in tests and experience.
If you’re moving from one AV product to another, do a thorough backup of all data that’s not vaulted and do a clean re-install of everything. Sounds drastic but the half day pain will save aggro later. If you’re doing it local then a USB Lacie drive is a pretty good bet and modestly priced.
Having said that, I’ve moved all critical files out to a $10 a month data centre. I just got sick of losing stuff or finding the machine needed rebuilding or what have you and then having to recreate file cabinets. Keeping it out in a vault gives me peace of mind. Not everyone will agree but…
Of course until recently, us Maccies didn’t have that issue 🙂 Best I can offer…
rick gregory says:
March 9, 2006 at 1:24 am
I’ve used AVG Professional 7.x (grisoft.com) for a year now. I’ve set it to update every morning, and periodically scan the entire drive with it. Pros are that it seems relatively lightweight and hasn’t messed up my machine at all. Cons… none really, but I’ve not had a virus attack that it’s had to deal with, so I don’t really know what would happen if that happened. I protect against spyware using MSFTs AntiSpyware app… Again, I’ve scanned periodically with other software to doublecheck and havent’ had any infections. I’m tempted to uninstall all of this stuff since they’ve basically not had anything to do in a year… but sure as I do that, I’ll get hit. Sigh…
Robert Brewer says:
March 9, 2006 at 1:33 am
Ditto on AVG. We use the for-pay version company-wide, and I also use the free version at home and recommend it to my family and friends. Good solid app.
Andy Piper says:
March 9, 2006 at 10:15 am
Another vote for AVG. We use the free version on any family PCs that run Windows. I also happen to use MS AntiSpyware beta on home machines.
james governor says:
March 17, 2006 at 8:29 am
i am trying AVG then…
Kathleen Roberts says:
December 21, 2007 at 11:18 am
I switched from AVG free to the version I paid for. It is better than the free AVG because it does more. So far it has intercepted two trojan horses and placed them in the virus vault. Regards, Kathleen.